* The tax take for the year so far is €478m larger than it was in the same period in 2015.

But the latest exchequer returns show that the amount of tax taken in for the first two months of this year is actually below target, by €34m.

The Department of Finance said the figure was being "distorted" for two reasons - the fact that February is not a VAT month, in other words VAT was not due from businesses, and that VAT rebates to firms were also issued last month.

* The State hasn't done enough to address the regulatory concerns of Ireland's small and medium-sized businesses, the European Commission has said.

While measures have been drawn up to ensure that the interests of SMEs are taken into account, European officials warned they haven't yet been fully rolled out.

The Commission also warned of the gulf between multinationals based here and homegrown businesses, whose concerns can be overlooked by government.

* Just three months after it launched its Trusource brand in the biggest US supermarket chain, Glanbia has been slapped with a lawsuit that alleges it has infringed existing trademarks.

Threshold Enterprises, which has a big presence in California, is claiming unspecified monetary damages from the Irish firm, and also accused it of "cyberpiracy".

A key part of Glanbia's expansion strategy has been its focus on performance nutrition products, a business segment that generated €923m of Glanbia's own €2.8bn revenue last year, and €135.6m in earnings before interest, tax and amortisation.

The Irish Times

* Motorists across the country look set to assume a once-off €50 insurance premium hike after the Motor Insurance Bureau of Ireland had to take on €90m in liabilities from the collapse of Setanta Ireland.

The Court of Appeal ruled against the MIBI's appeal, saying that the bureau must pay out on the outstanding claims left by Setanta.

Insurance Ireland chief executive, Kevin Thompson, expressed his sympathy to those who were affected by the liquidation of Setanta Insurance but said he doesn't support the sector becoming guarantors for less prudent insurers.

* Tax receipts grew by 7pc in the first two months of the year after revenue collected €478m extra in the period when compared with the same time last year.

The increased tax take was partly due to increased employment and surging car sales with the Exchequer collecting €7.2bn in January and February combined.

The 7.1pc increase was higher than the 5.8pc increase that was forecast in the budget.

* Dalata, Ireland's biggest hotel group, says that it will add between 4,000 and 5.000 more hotel rooms to its portfolio over the next five to seven years.

The firm reported a pretax profit of €28.5m and a 185pc jump in its revenue last year following an acquisition spree.

Dalata's chief executive, Pat McCann, says the firm will now focus its efforts onto the UK.

Irish Examiner

* Drivers in Ireland are in line to foot the bill for the collapse of Setanta Insurance following a failed appeal by the Motor Insurance Bureau of Ireland.

According to a report in the Irish Examiner a levy €30 to €40 could be implemented on all vehicles come insurance renewal time.

Fears are circulating that the failed appeal may set a precedent that would mean failed insurance companies will be covered by Irish motorists.

* Accumulated profits at the media firm owned by celebrity economist David McWilliams jumped by over €250,000 last year.

McWilliams is one of the country's leading economic commentators and has been a chronicler of Ireland's boom and bust over the past 15 years.

The Dubliner has also been busy building up his brand both here and across the globe and new figures show that it continues to pay off with accumulated profits at his Iconic Media Ltd rising from €629,846 to €884,037.

* PayPal, the global payments company, is to add another 100 jobs at its Irish-based operations over the course of the next month.

The announcement of the new jobs will bring the company's total workforce up to 3,000 by 2018.

It is expected the roles will be filled by the middle of next month with the majority of them being English-speaking customer service roles.